Zarnuqa

Moshe Ajami

17/10/2007

Final Report

During January 2001 a trial excavation was conducted at the site of Zarnuqa in the Qiryat Moshe neighborhood of Rehovot (Permit No. A-3363*; map ref. NIG 180131–44/642918–3125; OIG 130131–44/142918–3125), following the discovery of ancient remains during the installation of a transformer station. The excavation, on behalf of the Antiquities Authority and financed by the Electric Company, was directed by M. Ajami, with the assistance of Y. Dangor (administration), T. Sagiv (photography), Y. Nagar (physical anthropology), E. Altmark (metallurgical laboratory), M. Shuiskaya-Arnov (pottery drawing), Y. Gorin-Rosen (glass) and E. Yannai and M. Avissar (pottery).

Two areas, A in the south (5 × 5 m) and B in the north (2.5 × 5.0 m), were opened. Seven tombs at several levels, some below others, were exposed in Area A. The tombs are dated to the Late Ottoman period (sixteenth–nineteenth centuries CE) based on the ceramic finds. A modern wall and floor were discovered in Area B.

Area ATomb 102. Three storage jars, partially embedded in a pavement of small round stones (diam. up to 10 cm; Fig. 1), were exposed in the northwestern corner of the square. The northern jar contained grain (wheat?); the southern jar was empty (Fig. 3:10) and human bones were found in the eastern jar (Figs. 2; 3:11). The ceramic finds included bowls (Fig. 3:1, 3–7) and a jug (Fig. 3:8), dating to the Late Ottoman period (sixteenth–nineteenth centuries CE).Tomb 105. The tomb (length 1.3 m, width 0.6 m), build of fieldstones (average size 0.2 × 0.2 m) and covered with a gabled roof, was exposed in the southeastern corner of the square. The burial contained an individual whose original position was disturbed and a few animal bones (goat/sheep). Several glass beads, glass bracelets and a metal chain (Fig. 4) were discovered alongside the skull. Tomb 106. The tomb (length 2.2 m, width 0.6 m, depth 0.9 m; Fig. 5), oriented northeast–southwest in the center of the square, was built of fieldstones and had a gabled rectangular roof (0.2 × 0.2 × 0.6 m). Fragments of bones and a skull facing west were discovered.Tomb 107. This unlined cist tomb (0.30 × 0.65 m) was mostly destroyed by a modern ditch. Disturbed human bones and next to them, metal nails, a glass bracelet and animal bones (goat/sheep), were exposed. Tomb 108. The cist tomb (0.35 × 0.60 m) contained the bones of an infant placed on its back in an east–west direction. The head was in the west facing south and alongside it were two glass bracelets and metal nails.
Tomb 109. This tomb, south of Tomb 106, was built of fieldstones and had a gabled roof (0.5 × 2.0 m; Fig. 6). Like tomb 105, this burial was also disturbed and devoid of finds.Tomb 110. This unlined cist tomb (0.3 × 0.6 m) was located in the center of the western balk, below Tomb 102. The head of the deceased faced east. Fragments of a bowl (Fig. 3:2) and a jug (Fig. 3:9) were discovered in the tomb, yet they may have belonged to Tomb 102, dating to the Late Ottoman period.

Area B
A segment of a wall, oriented east–west and built of two rows of fieldstones next to a row of mud bricks, was exposed. The wall was abutted by a floor, which based on the finds below it, is dated to the twentieth century CE.

Anthropological Finds
Yossi Nagar

The direction and position of the deceased in the tombs represent a Muslim population. The bones that were well preserved had been examined in the field and not removed from the ground. The examination included an estimation of age and sex, as well as skull and post-cranial pathology. Seven individuals were found, among them six infants and one adult (see table). The multitude of infants in such a limited burial area is likely to indicate that the cemetery was planed and divided into distinct areas of interment.